Ecological footprint of food consumption in China:1982-2004

This paper calculates the land (including water area) requirement for food consumption in both balanced andactual diet in China by ecological footprint analysis. To determine whether logical and actual food demands are withinnatural regenerative ability, carrying capacity (excluding forestry production) is also calculated. Results show that actualdiet patterns were ecologically friendly in the period of 1982-2004 in China, mainly because of the rural moderate dietpatterns. But actual per capita footprint already overran its corresponding logic value of 0.976ha in urban areas in 2002.Productive areas for food production can satisfy the land requirement for actual diet patterns during the researchingperiod in China, nevertheless cannot satisfy that for balanced diet pattern or solve the problem of unbalanced ecologicalfootprint. The continual rising ecological footprint of food consumption in both rural and urban areas indicates that percapita footprint will keep on increasing in China and even may be more than the suggested logic value if no relevantcountermeasures are made to regulate diet patterns. Strictly speaking, China is facing food shortage, both in quality andin quantity.

Consumptive ecological footprint and productive ecological footprint: a modification on ecological footprint theory to evaluate regional sustainable development

Ecological footprint theory and its application achievements in global and regional sustainable development systems are studied by consulting the published literature, which finds that the application of ecological footprint theory to regional sustainability evaluation has leaded to a perplexity that the indicated result was inconsistent with the philosophy of sustainable development theory. Illuminated by the mechanical system of the movement of matters, it comes up that ecological footprint based on consumption of biologic production could not tell whether the ecological pressure acts on the specified region, and the original ecological footprint theory also undervalued the development impartiality of a region. A modification on this theory is made by introducing consumptive ecological footprint and productive ecological footprint, in which the latter is taken as the indicator of regional sustainability. The development impartiality can be demonstrated by comparison between the global ecological deficit per capita and regional consumptive ecological deficit per capita.

Evolutionary trend of water cycle in Beichuan River Basin of China under the influence of vegetation restoration

The study aims to identify a suitable site for open and bore well in a farmhouseusing ground magnetic survey in south India.It also aims to define depth to granitoid and structural elements which traverse the selected area.Magnetic data(n=84)measured,processed and interpreted as qualitative and quantitatively.The results of total magnetic intensities indicate that the area is composed of linear magnetic lows trending NE-SW direction and circular to semi-circular causative bodies.The magnetic values ranged from-137 nT to 2345 nT with a mean of 465 nT.Reduction to equator shows significant shifting of causative bodies in the southern and northern directions.Analytical signal map shows exact boundary of granitic bodies.Cosine directional filter has brought out structural element trending NE-SW direction.Results of individual profile brought to light structurally weak zone between 90 m and 100 m in all the profile lines.Sudden decrease of magnetic values from 2042 nT to 126 nT noticed in profile line 6 between 20 m and 30 m indicates fault occurrence.Magnetic breaks obtained from these maps were visualized,interpreted and identified two suitable sites for open and bore well.Radially averaged power spectrum estimates depth of shallow and deep sources in 5 m and 50 m,respectively.Euler method has also been applied to estimate depth of granitoid and structural elements using structural indexes 0,1,2,and 3 and found depth ranges from<10 m to>90 m.Study indicates magnetic method is one of the geophysical methods suitable for groundwater exploration and site selection for open and borewells.

Research on Ecological Carrying Pressure in the Greater Dunhuang Region based on the Relationship between Supply and Consumption

The Greater Dunhuang Region has experienced ecological degradation in the past 100 years caused by human factors such as ecological immigration, expansion of arable land, and the construction of reservoirs. At present, through the restoration of various ecological projects, the progress of ecological deterioration has slowed down. Ensuring that the development and construction of the Greater Dunhuang Region Cultural Tourism Economic Circle does not threaten ecological security is the top priority of the regional sustainable development plan. Based on the balance between supply and consumption of the ecosystem, this study assesses the pressure of ecological consumption in the Greater Dunhuang Region, and analyzes the patterns and trends in the ecological carrying status. The results reveal three important aspects of the ecological carrying pressure in this Region.(1) After 2000,the ecological supply in the Greater Dunhuang Region experienced a fluctuating growth trend. In the entire ecosystem, the farmland ecosystem provides more than 55% of the ecological supply, and areas with relatively high supply capacity are concentrated in a small number of valleys.(2) The Greater Dunhuang Region is under greater production pressure and there is less pressure from living consumption. The production consumption intensity has exceeded the ecological supply since 2014. The production and consumption structure of the Greater Dunhuang Region is dominated by animal husbandry production and consumption, accounting for more than 65% of the total production and consumption.(3) The Greater Dunhuang Region has been in a state of rich and surplus from 2000 to 2017. However, Dunhuang City turned into a surplus state in 2017 due to the pressure of the fast-growing tourist population. The Greater Dunhuang Region urgently needs to alleviate the ecological pressure through the development of eco-friendly industries. It is necessary to develop an ecological protection resource utilization model that focuses on the development of ecological and cultural services in pastoral areas to ease the pressure on the ecosystem from animal husbandry production.

Evaluation Methods and Research Trends for Ecological Carrying Capacity

With the intensive research into global coupling relationships,ecological carrying capacity（ECC）,seen as the crucial link between natural ecosystems and human systems,has gradually become an important tool for interdisciplinary research in ecology,resources science and environmental science,as well as for research on regional sustainable development.However,ECC research remains immature and lacks a complete theoretical system,as a result of many limiting factors and different space-time conditions.At present,Chinese and foreign studies focus on methods to evaluate ECC while neglecting to identify the internal driving mechanisms of ECC.In this article,based on the development and conceptualization of ECC,we introduce three evaluation methods for ECC：ecological footprint（EF）,human appropriation of net primary production（HANPP）and ecosystem services consumption（ESC）.Furthermore,we illuminate research focuses and developmental directions for ECC with respect to driving mechanisms,threshold,comprehensive evaluation systems and coupling dynamic model of multi ecological factors,in order to provide a reference for future ECC research.

Temporal and Spatial Dynamics Analysis of Grassland Ecosystem Pressure in Kazakhstan

Affected by climate change and policy factors,Kazakhstan is the country with the most severe ecological degradation and grassland conflicts in Central Asia.Therefore,studying the state of grassland carrying resources in Kazakhstan is particularly important for understanding the responses of grassland ecosystems to climate change and human activities.Based on Kazakhstan's remote sensing data and animal husbandry statistics,this study analyzes the patterns of changes in grassland ecosystems in Kazakhstan based on the supply and consumption of these ecosystems.The results show that:1)From 2003 to 2017,the number of livestock raised in Kazakhstan showed a trend of sustained and steady growth.Due to freezing damage,the scale of livestock farming decreased in 2011,but a spatial difference in the livestock farming structure was not obvious.2)The fluctuation of grassland supply in Kazakhstan has increased,while the consumption due to animal husbandry has also continued to increase,resulting in an increasing pressure on the grassland carrying capacity.3)Between 2003 and 2017,the overall grassland carrying status of Kazakhstan have been abundant,but the grassland carrying pressure index has shown a steadily increasing trend,the grassland carrying pressure is growing,and it is mainly determined by grassland productivity.The greater pressure in lower Kyzylorda state,the southern Kazakhstan state of the cultivated land and the northern Kazakhstan state has gradually expanded to include the agro-pastoral zone and the semi-desert zone.